UK Anti-Corruption Pledge Tracker

The UK Anti-Corruption Pledge Tracker monitors the progress of the commitments made by the UK Government at the 2016 Anti-Corruption Summit. Scroll down to see whether the Government's words have turned into action...

Pledge statuses

The 2016 Anti-Corruption Summit saw leaders come together and make pledges that, if properly implemented, have real potential to reduce corruption across the world. But unlike other Summits, there was no formal mechanism for follow-up or monitoring to ensure that governments are kept accountable for the promises that they've made.

To fill this gap, Transparency International UK will be monitoring the progress of fifteen commitments made by the UK Government at the Anti-Corruption Summit. The status of each pledge is based on public evidence of progress, rather than TI's internal analysis. As the status moves from 'pending' to 'complete', the colour of the pledge will change from red to green. When a pledge passes its estimated date for completion, the pledge will be marked as 'overdue' until it has been completed.

That a number of the pledges are already 'underway' or 'complete' already demonstrates the need to recognise when progress is made. Scroll down to see how the UK is fulfilling its anti-corruption commitments.

Anti-Corruption Strategy

Cabinet Office and Home Office

Action

Publish Anti-Corruption Strategy by end of 2016, with details of long-term approach to tackling corruption and clear plans for implementation.

The UK committed to developing a cross-government Anti-Corruption Strategy by the end of 2016, but that strategy is now overdue. The Anti-Corruption Strategy should provide the framework for annual or sectoral plans to counter corruption, with a comprehensive articulation of the problem, a clear set of objectives, and a long-term vision. A strategy should tell us about the scale of the problem, where the UK plans to focus its anti-corruption efforts, and where there are information or data gaps. Click 'Further Reading' to find out why we need a world class strategy.

Unexplained Wealth Orders

Home Office

Action

Complete consultation on stronger asset recovery legislation

An Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) power would be used to help freeze the assets of individuals who are reasonably suspected to have been enriched by criminal activity, including corruption. It reverses the burden of proof - if the individual is unable to refuse to explain the source of the suspicious wealth, this can be used as evidence to help law enforcement seize assets through an existing civil recovery process.

Global Forum for Asset Recovery

Home Office

Action

Establish Global Forum for Asset Recovery, with resources to support the Forum.

The Global Forum for Asset Recovery will bring together governments and law enforcement agencies to work together to recover stolen assets. The forum will strengthen co-operation between the countries that have had assets stolen and the countries where those assets are hidden, and help ensure law enforcement on both sides drive forward vital work to return illicit funds.

Public Central Register of Beneficial Ownership

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Action

Launch public central register of company beneficial ownership information for all UK companies

The UK Government has legislated to ensure that, from June 2016, we will be the first G20 country to establish a publicly accessible central registry showing who really owns and controls UK companies. This will open up a new era of corporate transparency in Britain and will help us to tackle corruption.

Beneficial Ownership of Foreign Companies

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Action

Launch public register of foreign companies who already own or buy property in the UK, or bid on central government contracts

The UK is offering safe haven to corrupt individuals, their associates and assets, allowing non-UK companies to anonymously purchase property and participate in public contracting. Evidence suggests that the majority of grand corruption cases involve shell companies as the vehicle of choice for laundering illicit wealth. For this reason, introducing transparency around beneficial ownership of foreign companies will be vital to fight corruption and the multitude of negative impacts it brings at home and abroad. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy opened a consultation seeking views on the beneficial ownership register on 5 April 2017.

Corrupt Bidders

Debarment, often referred to as 'blacklisting' or 'exclusion', is the legal process by which companies, or individuals, are excluded from certain privileges and practices, as a result of wrongdoing (e.g. corruption, bribery, money laundering, collusion, terrorist financing, criminal enterprise, and fraud). A defence company that is 'debarred', for example, is effectively disqualified from winning government contracts. Depending on the debarment system in place, a state might alternatively choose to temporarily 'suspend' a company/individual from certain privileges. In the event of suspension, a company can potentially regain privileges through specified 'self-cleaning' measures. Globally, exclusion systems vary from 'mandatory', as in the EU, to 'highly discretionary' exclusion systems, as in the US. The offenses sufficient to trigger 'debarment' vary by country and, in some cases, by sector - depending on market concentration and assessments of future risk.

Natural Resources Transparency

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, HM Treasury, Financial Conduct Authority and Department for International Development

Action

Enhance company disclosure regarding payments to government for the sale of oil, gas and minerals

Over the last decade, the UK has led the way in encouraging the extractive sector to be more transparent. But a significant gap still exists. Payments from physical commodity trading companies to governments and state-owned enterprises for the sale of oil, gas and minerals remain largely opaque. Whereas taxes, royalties and other payments are included within existing disclosure rules, payments from oil traders to governments (often $US billions/year) are not.

Innovation Hub

Cabinet Office (Government Digital Service)

Action

Launch Anti-Corruption Innovation Hub

The Innovation Hub is designed to connect social innovators, technology experts and data scientists with law enforcement, business and civil society to collaborate on innovative approaches to anti-corruption. The Hub will champion innovative ways to report, detect and investigate corruption, as well as collaborating on identifying and supporting emerging anti-corruption innovations. Good practice will be shared amongst partners, and established conferences and multilateral stakeholder groups will be used to highlight innovative anti-corruption initiatives and opportunities for collaboration.

International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre

National Crime Agency

Action

Establish and launch International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre, with sufficient resources

The International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre, launched in July 2017, brings together specialist law enforcement officers from multiple jurisdictions into a single location to tackle allegations of grand corruption.
The IACCC’s members include agencies from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK and the USA, with Interpol scheduled to join later this year. The new centre will improve fast-time intelligence sharing, assist countries that have suffered grand corruption and help bring corrupt elites to justice.

Open Contracting Data Standard

Crown Commercial Service

Action

Implement Open Contracting Data Standard

The UK Government committed to implementing the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) by October 2016. The OCDS enables disclosure of data and documents at all stages of the contracting process by defining a common data model. It is a core product of the Open Contracting Partnership (OCP). The UK Government implemented the OCDS in December 2016.

International Sport Integrity Partnership

Department of Culture, Media and Sport

Action

Develop International Sport Integrity Partnership

The International Sports Integrity Partnership will help prevent the risk of corruption in sport, enable better cooperation between the key stakeholders and ensure a coordinated approach to the implementation of dedicated measures. The Partnership was launched at the second edition of the International Forum for Sports Integrity in Lausanne, Switzerland, in February 2017. To date, no information has been released outlining the UK’s role in the partnership, which other governments and institutions are in the partnership, or the steps it will take to ensure integrity in sport.

Whistleblower Protection

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Action

Review effectiveness of changes to whistleblower legislation

Whistleblowers are less likely to report workplace misconduct when their employers do not provide clear internal reporting channels. And in some settings, whistleblowing carries connotations of betrayal rather than being seen as a benefit to the public. Ultimately, societies, institutions and citizens lose out when there is no one willing to cry foul in the face of corruption. Whistleblowers are invaluable in exposing corruption, fraud and mismanagement.

Fiscal Transparency Evaluation

HM Treasury

Action

Complete IMF Fiscal Transparency Evaluation

Fiscal transparency is critical for effective fiscal management and accountability. It helps ensure that governments have an accurate picture of their finances when making economic decisions, including of the costs and benefits of policy changes and potential risks to public finances. It also provides legislatures, markets, and citizens with the information they need to hold governments accountable. FTEs are carried out at the request of countries. They also support capacity building, including the prioritization and delivery of IMF technical assistance

Anti-Corruption Practitioner Partnerships

The UK will launch practitioner partnerships on institutional integrity with Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, Afghanistan and Georgia to share expertise in the areas of audit, financial regulation, anticorruption, and parliamentary budget oversight. The UK will support a learning exchange for the Institutional Integrity Network at the OECD

Economic Crimes

Launch and complete consultation on plans to extend the scope of the criminal offence of a corporate 'failing to prevent' beyond bribery and tax evasion to other economic crimes

On 13 January 2017 the Ministry of Justice opened a call for evidence concerning criminal offences designed to punish and prevent economic crimes. The call for evidence asked for views as to the suitability and scope that would be most effective. The call for evidence was closed on 24 March 2017. Depending on its outcome, a public consultation on the detail of a firm proposal for reform may be launched.